The present invention relates generally to thermally responsive snap acting switches and more specifically to such switches particularly useful with automotive motors and components therefor.
In recent years there has been a trend to continually reduce the size and weight of automotive vehicles to make them more fuel efficient as well as to minimize the overall price of the vehicles to make them affordable to a greater number of consumers. In this regard the size of and accessibility to many of the components used in such vehicles have also been reduced and since it is common to mount thermal switches in heat transfer relation with such components, it has become necessary to reduce the size of these switches since there is less available space for them. Such components include various electrical loads such as cooling fan control relays, solenoids, warning lights and the like, typically in the order of 300-400 milliamperes, 14 volt DC. Snap acting thermally responsive switches are used with many of these electrical loads and as the physical size of the switches is decreased, the longevity of the switches has been adversely affected due, inter alia, to increases in stress levels in the shortened movable parts of the switches.